Talcher Fertilizers facing delay of 6 months, but will be commissioned on time: MD

• At a review meeting with DV Sadananda Gowda, TFL MD, however, assured that the project will be commissioned at the stipulated deadline
• After taking stock of the progress, Gowda said that the delay in execution should be compensated with faster execution in future

New Delhi: Talcher Fertilizers Limited MD (Managing Director) SN Yadav said on Tuesday that the project has got delayed by about six months, as of June 23, due to issues such as travel restrictions and shortage of labourers. At a review meeting with Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers DV Sadananda Gowda, Yadav, however, assured that the project will be commissioned at the stipulated deadline. During the meeting Yadav briefed the minister about the status of the progress of the project and various challenges being faced during the execution of the project due to the COVID-19 crisis. He said that work has started since May and has gathered pace.

Talcher Fertilizers: Compensate delay by faster execution, says Gowda

After taking stock of the progress, Gowda said, "The COVID-19 situation may have delayed the execution of the project at present. We must, however, be prepared to compensate the current delay by faster execution in future so that the project is commissioned by the deadline i.e., September 2023." When commissioned, Talcher Fertilizers, along with other four revival projects at Ramagundam, Gorakhpur, Barauni and Sindri, will contribute towards ensuring self-sufficiency in urea production.

The backdrop

Talcher Fertilizers Limited is bringing up a urea unit of 12.7 Lakh MT per annum capacity at Talcher in Odisha. It is a Joint Venture Company (JVC) promoted by GAIL, CIL, RCF and FCIL. When completed, it will be the first-of-its-kind in India to employ coal gasification technology for the production of urea. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 13,270 crore. The successful completion of the project will reduce India's dependency on imported urea, and is expected to create hundreds of direct and indirect employments.

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